Who are the Beta Testers?
Beta Testers are volunteers. They come from all walks of life and have varying computer and game skills. The most important thing that Beta Testers have in common is the enjoyment of playing America's Army and a desire to contribute to the development and success of the game. Currently, Beta Testers spend an average of eight hours per week participating in the testing of America's Army.

What do Beta Testers do?

1. Beta Testers perform specific system/component tests as outlined in test plans designed to run through all potential variables one may experience in normal use of the game.
2. Beta Testers perform regular play test sessions designed to load the servers and check for playability, equality and of course whether the game is fun to play and provides a good experience to the gamer.
3. Beta Testers provide valuable feedback to the Developers to assist in game design to provide the best possible experience. Feedback includes anything from basic user interface to map design and game play features.
4. Beta Testers report all bugs discovered during any of the above mentioned assignments and are expected to provide those reports in a clear, concise, and formatted manner consistent with requirements set forth by the Development Team.

How is the Beta Team organized?
The Beta Team has the following Management/Support Structure:

Developers - The game developers advise on new features and resolved issues to give testing focus to Beta Captains and Beta Testers. One of the Developers is the head of the beta program, providing direction and management.

Beta Captains - Beta Captains communicate testing focus to specific Test Group Coordinators. They organize the testing effort, and manage the Beta Team and communication systems.

Test Coordinators - Test Coordinators schedule test events, track test plan submissions, post testing focus in appropriate sections for Tester viewing. They perform Bug Regression for each Beta release and report on testing progress.

Beta Testers - Beta Testers perform required testing, play tests, bug regression, reporting of bugs and provide specific feedback about features to the Developers.

What do Beta Testers get in return?
Beta Testers get the opportunity to affect change in the game they love to play. Testers get the chance to see new versions prior to release including new features and maps. As a reward for their work, testers display the coveted Beta icon and a custom helmet patch when they play. Most importantly, Betas get the chance to work with a terrific group of people from all over the world.

Beta Recruiting - When and What we are looking for:
Beta recruiting is done when requirements dictate the need to bring additional people into the program. This happens about once every 4 to 6 months.

1. We are looking for the serious and devoted gamers. Those who play nearly everyday and have a wide variety of gaming experience.
2. We are looking for some inexperienced players who may even have to ask how to install the game and register an account, but are dedicated to making the game better.
3. We are looking for the PC Tech, someone that knows everything about hardware and operating systems.
4. We are looking for the full time professional player.
5. We are looking for the part time recreational player.

Sound confusing? Understand that we need to get feedback and bug reports from all different types of players. There is no single group of people that make the best testers. If we only had the professional gamers, then we would have a game that only caters to that group. Conversely, limiting the program to casual gamers would frustrate the more serious fan base. To test the game from front to back, we need players of every type.

How do we find new Beta Testers?
We use several different methods to find new testers.

One of the first methods we use is to ask active Beta Testers to nominate people that they think would be an asset, though it does not guarantee acceptance into the program. One of the biggest rewards for being a Beta Tester is the opportunity to select and train the next generation of testers.

Another method used to find potential Beta Testers is by compiling a list of some of the most active Public Version players (usually recent activity over several months). This list can be 10 lines long or 100 lines long, depending on the current needs of the program.

Additional candidates are identified by monitoring Public Forum Bug submissions, looking for those who consistently provide clear and concise bug reports, follow the requested submission format, and clearly describe the reproduction steps or any additional information as requested.

Those selected by one of the above methods are asked to submit a beta application which is the first step to becoming a tester. Even so, this does not mean final selection is guaranteed.

Who is selected?
All applicants are screened by the Beta Captains and the Developer in charge of the program. We screen game accounts to weed out anyone with a cheat or hack history against them. Applications are reviewed for completeness and responses to questions evaluated. Forum posts are reviewed to get a feel for a persons ability to communicate. We look for those who show respect to others, even when others may not agree, and do not try to push their opinions onto others. We tend to avoid those who cannot follow instructions or are not willing to accept that others make the decisions, that they themselves may be wrong, and their opinion is simply an opinion.

Everyone must keep in mind that the Beta Team, while they are volunteering their time, are expected to act as they would in any Quality Assurance position. At the end of the day, this is a business and our team members should act accordingly. The Developers are working professionals and are here to do a job. The job of the Tester is to test the game, provide feedback, and report bugs. The job of decision making is that of the Developers and Project Managers.

Those selected from the applications received are then brought into the Beta Training program. During the training process, each candidate is further evaluated for suitability. If the individual successfully completes training and evaluation, they are then enrolled into the ranks of the Beta Team.

Below is a basic list of requirements to become a Beta Tester.

1. Must be a citizen of US, NATO, or ANZUS country.
2. Must be at least 18 years of age.
3. Must have a PC meeting the minimum system requirements
4. Commit to a minimum required level of participation to remain in the program.
5. Communicate clearly any feedback and bugs found. If English is not be your primary language, you still must be able to communicate effectively in English.
6. Agree to the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). This means you agree not to share information in any way regarding the Development and Testing of America's Army.
7. Agree to refrain from posting any information obtained from Beta communications of any type anywhere except within the same Beta communications systems.
8. Agree that in Beta we are all on the same team. Clan or other organization affiliations are left at the door.
9. Agree to provide any feedback / input in a clear, concise, and constructive manner.
10. Understand that you do not speak for the gaming community. Others may disagree with your opinion.
11. Agree that decisions about development are made by the developers and that you can provide input.
12. Be willing to accept that some things suggested may not be implemented.
13. Satisfactorily pass the application screening and selection process.
14. Satisfactorily complete the Beta training program

Still Want to Help?
Do you think you would be a good fit and meet all of the qualifications but still have not been invited? During each recruitment we are only looking for a specific number of recruits. The best thing to do is actively play the game, submit any bugs you find as provided for on the AA3 website, and your chance may be closer than you think. Lastly, we have created an OfficialSteamGroupforAABeta. Be sure to join it and watch for updates.

There you have it, the America's Army Beta Team!